Moral Compass
by Eppy
Summary: Jalil and April witness a not-so-unusual occurance. (JalilxApril, ChristopherxDavid)


We came back victorious and Dionysus threw a revel "in our honor", though it's not like he needed the excuse. If the battle had gone badly, he would have started to cheer us up. The gods of Olympus drank, ate, fought, and fucked, and not necessarily in that order. If they had another purpose, we'd yet to discover it.

So I'm standing next to April, doing the not-quite flirting thing, when something across the room catches my eye. There's a writhing, entwined couple in the corner, but then, that's not so unusual. But there's a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it's important, so I look closer. And nearly spit out the swig of wine I'd just taken.

"Oh my god," I whispered.

"Thought you didn't believe in God, Jalil," April teased.

The dig didn't even register. "Look. Oh my god. David. Christopher. They're…"

"Making out," she said, nodding like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Why? Does that bother you?" Her tone went from a light, teasing tone to hard protectiveness in an instant. Don't mess with my boys. When did April turn into our Everworld Mama?

"Of course it doesn't bother me," I scoffed. Homosexuality is a very natural thing. Certainly, it doesn't bother me as much as, say, talking horse-birds. Only idiots who are scared of what they don't understand let themselves be bothered by something like that. Which brings me to the point, "Christopher isn't gay. Neither is David."

"Well, of course not," April said with a shrug and a giggle.

There are times I really don't understand that girl. "And Christopher is in love with Etain. Didn't he swear total celibacy until their eternal love can be realized, or something like that?"

"Sure," April said. "But it's not cheating."

I looked over at them. It seemed pretty serious to me. Any more intense and I'd force them to go someplace more private. Not that they seemed to care about a potential audience so far. I didn't say anything, but gave April a "what the fuck?" look.

She took pity on me. "David is a guy," she said, emphasizing the last word. "It's not cheating."

Realization dawned. "It doesn't count."

She smiled, like I was a slow kid who finally got the answer right. "Why would it? It's not like they're in love. Or even like each other all that much. They get each other off. It's like masturbation, sort off."

Okay, that was way too much information. But I was fascinated. "And you approve?"

"Oh, Jalil," she said with a sigh. "I'm not in charge. I'm not your moral compass."

"Of course you are," I answered.

She laughed again, and patted my cheek. It was vaguely condescending, but it gave me a nice tingle so I didn't worry about it. "Don't worry about it. They'll come to their senses eventually. Or, hey, they might just fall in love." Her tone went wistful. "Wouldn't that be sweet?"

"I'm seeing a whole other side of you," I told her.

She shrugged. "I think they're cute together."

David and Christopher finally caught on to the fact that we'd been watching them for the last few minutes. They broke apart, and we had a mini macho staring contest across the room. It was hard to keep eye contact with all the people moving between us. I saw David lean up to Christopher's ear and whisper something. Christopher nodded eagerly, and they started to make their way to the door.

They paused at the exit and looked back at us. David's face was stony, but Christopher gave me a cheeky wave and a wry grin. David yanked him into the hall.

It took me a second to get my mouth to work. "They just…" I started.

"Yes," April answered.

"And now they're…"

"Probably."

"Oh my god," I said.

"Yes?" Dionysus asked. He held up a pitcher. "More wine?"

"Please," I said. Dionysus topped me off and floated back into the party. April took the glass from my hand before I had a chance to drink.

"You've had enough," she said, vaguely disapproving.

"But you're not my moral compass," I said.

April shook her head. "Just your friend." And then she smiled at me, a smile that made me feel I could do anything, be anything, if only she would keep looking at me like that. I thought about kissing her.

But the moment passed and she looked away. We stood next to each other, silent, nervous, until eventually I said, "I think I've been here long enough to keep them from being insulted. I'm going to bed."

"Me, too," she said quickly. We bumped going through the door and I stepped back to let her through. She hesitated, then kissed me on the cheek. She turned a little pink, giggled nervously, and turned away. I stood in the doorway and watched her float down the hall.

END


End file.
